Tuesday's Gone, by Nicci French.
She pressed her head harder against the door, feeling her brain working, her thoughts hissing. She couldn't stop herself: the past was seeping into the present and there were things she needed to know. She wondered why she was doing this. Why was she going back? - from Tuesday's Gone, page 62 -
Frieda Klein still carries the guilt of a young woman's murder and the nagging suspicion that the killer still walks free. When Detective Chief Inspector Karlsson once again calls upon Frieda to help unravel the mystery of a man's death, Frieda is a bit reticent. But when she hears about the mentally ill woman who has been accused of the murder, she is curious. Robert Poole, a con man with a shadowy past, has been found naked and dead and covered with flies, while Michelle Doyce attempts to serve him afternoon tea. It is a bizarre and convoluted case. Who is Robert? And who would want to kill him? One thing Frieda is certain of, Michelle had nothing to do with the crime. As the pieces of the puzzle begin to come together, Frieda begins to sense a dark threat to her own life. Has her past come back to haunt her?
The second book in the Frieda Klein series is a page turner. Once again Nicci French creates tension and mystery where anyone could be a suspect in murder. I read the first book in this new series (read my review of Blue Monday) and was hooked. Frieda Klein is a complex character who struggles with intimacy and love for herself while she wants to rescue others. She is a compelling protagonist who invites readers into her world and keeps them there until the last page is turned.
She was in the room and yet somehow standing back from it. She gave you her full attention, and yet at the same time you felt she had a core of isolation, of separateness. It made her a kind of magnet. - from Tuesday's Gone, page 303 -
Although Tuesday's Gone could stand alone, I believe readers would be best served by starting with Blue Monday before cracking the spine on the second book. Nicci French provides enough background to remind readers of what happened in the first book, and then closes the novel with a hook to lead into book number three (released this month in the UK). I will be eager to get a copy of Waiting for Wednesday when it makes its US debut because now that I have become a part of Freida Klein's world, I don't want to leave!
Tuesday's Gone is a psychological thriller which has terrific characters and a well-plotted mystery that had me wondering how it would all end. The book is atmospheric, capturing the mood of England's largest city and the flow of the Thames River to create a novel which fully immerses the reader in the back alleys and run down tenements of London. Unlike the first book in the series, Tuesday's Gone never flagged for me, keeping up a relentless pace and unbearable tension until the end.
Readers who love suspense-thrillers that delve deeply into the psychological, as well as those who like their books well plotted, will want to read Tuesday's Gone.
Highly recommended.
★★★★ 1/2
FTC Disclosure: Many thanks to the publisher who sent me a copy of the book for review on my blog.
Catch all of Wendy Robard's reviews in her fabulous blog, "Caribousmom".
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